Putting Knowledge to Work

Home Gardeners -- Check your garden for Late Blight on tomatoes and potatoes!

By: Lutie C. Batt, Extension Educator

Home gardeners need to be on the lookout for Late Blight - a very destructive and very infectious disease that's killing tomato and potato plants in gardens and on commercial farms in the eastern U.S.

Late blight is the same disease that caused the Irish Potato Famine in the 1840s. It has never occurred this early and this widespread in the U.S. One of the most visible early symptoms of the disease is brown spots (lesions) on stems. They begin small and firm, and then quickly enlarge, with white fungal growth developing under moist conditions that leads to a soft rot collapsing the stem.

Classic symptoms are large (at least nickel-sized) olive-green to brown spots on leaves with slightly fuzzy white fungal growth on the underside when conditions have been humid (early morning or after rain). Sometimes the border of the spot is yellow or has a water-soaked appearance. Spots begin tiny, irregularly shaped and brown. Firm, brown spots develop on tomato fruit.

You need to act quickly to protect your garden-grown tomato and potato plants and to make sure that your plants don't become a source of spores that could infect commercial farms, as late blight spores are easily dispersed by wind.

Here are the steps you should take:

1. Examine your tomato and potato plants thoroughly at least once a week for signs of late blight.
2. Spray fungicides preventively and regularly and/or
3. Be prepared to destroy your plants when late blight starts to become severe. Seal them in a plastic bag and put in the trash. Do not put them in the compost pile, do not burn them.

If you want to try to control late blight with fungicides, you need to begin spraying fungicide now - even before you see symptoms - and you need to continue spraying regularly. Use a product that contains chlorothalonil. Even here, these products are only effective if used before the disease appears and should be reapplied every 5-7 days if wet weather persists. Chlorothalonil is a protectant fungicide, with no systemic movement in the plant, so thorough coverage is necessary. For organic growers and homeowners, the options are very limited, since only copper fungicides can be used, and they are not very effective. Commercial growers have a number of fungicides that if applied early and often, can reduce the spread of Late Blight. They would choose not to spray if they could, but this destructive disease does not give them any other option. Even with fungicide applied every week, there is no guarantee of success, especially if the rainy weather continues. And will you even get ripe tomatoes with a cool wet summer and short growing season?

One source of late blight in New York has been traced to tomato plants imported to garden centers from production facilities in the south. If you started your own tomatoes from seed or bought locally grown plants, they are unlikely to be infected, at least initially. If you purchased your plants at a garden center and they show signs of late blight, please contact your local office of Cornell Cooperative Extension at 786-2251.

Wyoming County Reality Check Teens Join Commissioner Daines in NYC to Call for Smoke-Free Movies for Youth

On June 1st, Wyoming County teens from Attica and Warsaw High School helped represent the Buffalo Area as members of Reality Check, an anti-tobacco youth action grant program sponsored by the New York State Department of Health, at the Reality Check Statewide Summit in NYC. The Wyoming County Reality Check Program grant is administered by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Wyoming County. This year's Reality Check statewide summit focused on the dangers of smoking in movies, which contributes to more than ½ of all newly recruited youth tobacco users each year. State Health Commissioner Richard F. Daines, M.D, joined prominent tobacco-control advocates and more than 200 high school students from around the state to demand that the six companies that own the major motion picture studios eliminate smoking and other tobacco imagery from youth-rated movies.

"Smoking in movies is a significant problem for youth because when they see their idols, or the people they look up to smoking they think it is cool," says Sarah Carlson, a senior student at Warsaw High School. Fellow Warsaw High School senior student Ashley White adds, "By attending the Reality Check statewide summit we helped show people that smoking in movies influences youth to smoke in real life." Sarah Strumpf (Attica High School) also helped represent the Wyoming County Reality Check Program at the Reality Check summit rally.

Studies have linked exposure to on-screen smoking with up to half of all youth smoking initiation, including findings by the National Cancer Institute of a causal relationship between exposure to depictions of smoking in movies and young people starting smoking.

Commissioner Daines noted that the major motion picture studios owned by six companies - SONY, Time Warner, Viacom, News Corp., General Electric, and Disney - have delivered 275 billion "toxic tobacco impressions" to movie viewers over the last 10 years. Unless the movie studios adopt policy changes, he said an estimated 190,000 New Yorkers who are children today will eventually die of smoking-related illnesses because of the powerful effects of smoking imagery in films.

"Unlike most major public health threats, there is an easy, low-cost solution to the problem of smoking in movies," said Dr. Daines. "The film industry can immediately reduce youth exposure to smoking imagery by assigning all future movies with smoking depictions an R rating. This simple step, which has been widely endorsed by leading public health organizations, will help save hundreds of thousands of lives."

"Because of the enormous threat to the health of our youth, the State Health Department is obliged to inform the public about the hazards of smoking in movies," said Dr. Daines."

Adopting policy solutions that reduce youth initiation of tobacco use will cost media companies almost nothing - especially when compared with the $8.17 billion that tobacco costs New York State each year in medical care."

More information about the impact of smoking in movies is available at: http://www.smokefreemovies.ucsf.edu/.

Upcoming Reality Check Events

• June 30th - Reality Check night at the Charcoal Corral in Perry. The first 50 people get in free - gates open at 6pm.
  
  
• July 10th - Reality Check Smoke Free Movie Night at the Warsaw Village Park. This is a free outdoor movie event - just bring a blanket and a lawn chair! This is also a substance free event (no alcohol, tobacco etc.) Seating begins at 8pm and movie begins at sundown (approx. 8:45pm). The movie will be Hotel for Dogs (PG).
  
  
• July 17th - Reality Check night at the Charcoal Corral in Perry. First 75 people get in free - gates open at 6pm.
  

 

Wyoming County Youth Excel at New York 4-H Dairy Quiz Bowl

On Saturday, April 25, the New York State 4-H Dairy Quiz Bowl Contest took place at Cornell University in Ithaca. 4-H Dairy Quiz Bowl is a jeopardy-like activity organized and held on a local, regional and state level for youth from ages 8 to 19 who have an interest in learning about the dairy industry. This youth dairy event is a contest in which young people have an opportunity to test their knowledge of dairy cattle, dairy products and current issues in the dairy industry.

Left to right: Coach Tina Shafer (Niagara County), Christopher Sweeney (Niagara County), Alton Rudgers, T.J. Beckerink (Chautauqua County), and Oliver Ewell.

Two Wyoming County youth represented the Western District. The junior team, with Alton Rudgers, son of Dana Rudgers and Jodi Rudgers of Attica, and Oliver Ewell, son of Seth and Marci Ewell of Pavilion, were the 2009 New York State Reserve Champions! Individually, Ewell was 10th, and Rudgers was 7th. Other members of the Western District 4-H Dairy Bowl Team were Christopher Sweeney of Appleton (2nd place individual) and T.J. Beckerink of Findlay Lake. The team was coached by Christine Shafer of Middleport.

 

Mike Emerling Named 2009 Pride of Agriculture Good Neighbor

By Joan Sinclair Petzen, Agriculture Program Leader, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Wyoming County

Announcement of Mike Emerling as the 2009 Pride of Agriculture Good Neighbor highlighted the Wyoming County Chamber of Commerce’s second annual Pride of Agriculture dinner on Saturday, March 28th. Three hundred fifty people gathered to celebrate and recognize agriculture and its contributions to the Wyoming County community. Mike Emerling exemplifies the kind of good neighbors Cornell Cooperative Extension and Farm Bureau seek to recognize in the farming community with this award.

(L-R) Pete Broughton, Wyoming County Farm Bureau President; Mike Emerling, Good Neighbor Award Recipient; Jonah Broughton, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Wyoming County’s Board of Directors President; and Joan Petzen, Agriculture Program Leader, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Wyoming County.

Mike’s involvement in community spans many aspects. He is member of the Perry Central School Board, Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Agriculture Program Committee and the Holstein Association at the national, state and county level. Through the 4-H Program, he assists club leaders with training youth for participation in county and New York State fair activities with dairy projects.

Together with his father and mother, John and Betty and his wife Liz, Mike operates Emerling Farms, a third generation dairy. According to Merville Button, retired extension agent who nominated Emerling, “the family has a reputation of civic responsibility. Example: dairy farm odors are a serious concern, especially when there is a village close by. To ameliorate this problem, the Emerlings have installed a state of the art manure digester. The system reduces the odor problem and the methane gas produced is used to fuel an engine which generates a large percentage of electricity used by the farm.” This technology, though costly to install, shows dedication to environmental responsibility by both reducing odors and reducing the farm’s draw on commercial electrical supply.

People today, even in rural communities, crave a connection to understanding how food is produced. Mike and family host “visit a farm” tours for elementary school children and their teachers. Mike plans the event and thoroughly enjoys leading tours that give children a chance to get up close and personal with cows that produce milk. His planning makes the tours enjoyable, entertaining, and educational. He also hosts an annual summer picnic at the farm for families featuring an air inflated castle, play areas and music for the kids to enjoy. The evening finale is a professional fireworks display. Young and old have a grand time at this event each year.

Agriculture is a very visible industry in the Wyoming County landscape. Emerling Farms does their part to present a positive image in many ways. Their farmstead is located on the well traveled NYS Route 246 between the village of Perry and the Hamlet of Perry Center. Whenever one drives by you notice a neat, well maintained farmstead. This fosters a positive image of both their farm and the dairy industry in Wyoming County. In addition to local visitors, Emerling Farms frequently open their operation to tours from throughout the United States and international visitors.

Wyoming County’s Pride of Agriculture Good Neighbor Mike Emerling is a leader in the many communities with which he is involved. From the Perry Central School District, to working with the 4-H youth and his Holstein associations both state and nationally, Mike is humble, energetic and thoughtful.

Congratulations to Mike and all the Emerlings on their continuing heritage of neighborliness.

 

Have You Heard The "Voice of Extension"?

Cindy Kiel, our Agriculture Administrative Assistant, is our "Voice of Extension". You can listen for Cindy on WCJW 1140 AM during their Ag Hour (11am-12noon) for her interviews about upcoming events and programs being offered by Cornell Cooperative Extension.

2009 Agriculture and Home Gardening Enrollment

Cornell Cooperative Extension Agriculture and Home Garden enrollment packets will be coming in the mail in the next few days. Enroll as soon as you receive your packet to avoid interruption of enrollment benefits. For 2009, we are offering a new farm or company-wide enrollment discount option.

Since many of our agricultural businesses involve multiple families and households, we are offering a $10 discount to the second or more enrollees per farm or company. Consider offering Cornell Cooperative Extension enrollment as an employee benefit so your staff has easy access to timely information and educational offerings. The initial enrollment fee for a family or business costs $35.00. Each additional enrollment after the first from the same business will be $25 each.

For 95 years, Cornell University Cooperative Extension Wyoming County has been proactively developing agricultural and horticultural educational programs to address the needs of the County’s citizens. Our organization is facing some challenging times as we adjust to New York State’s Budget cutbacks. Now more than ever, we need your support and involvement as we chart the course for Cornell Cooperative Extension to meet the educational needs of farmers and the community of Wyoming County. Consider making a tax deductible donation with your enrollment to support the local continuing education Cooperative Extension offers.

Enrollment benefits:

• “Wyoming County Farm News”
• Discounts on classes & services:
  • Wyoming County Dairy Institute
  • Commercial Drivers License Training
  • Pesticide Certification Seminars
  • Complete Soil Analysis
  • Guidelines for Agricultural Production
  • Farm Account Books
• “Small Farm Quarterly” subscription (Cornell Small Farms Program)
• Free in office diagnostics:
  • Insect, disease, weed, or plant identification
  • Soil pH testing
• Timely announcements for classes and technical updates
• $5.00 discount on Home Gardening Enrollment
• Voting privileges for electing Cooperative Extension’s Board and Program Advisory Committees
  

If you are already an Agriculture Program enrollee at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Wyoming County, watch for your enrollment packet to arrive and return it without delay!! If not, then please call our office at 585-786-2251 to enroll!